


Everybody Knows

by FelicisQuill2



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Campfires, Canon Compliant, Dystopia, Episode: s04e02 Heavy Lies the Crown, Episode: s04e03 The Four Horsemen, F/M, Fluff, Missing Scene, One Shot, Romance, Season/Series 04, Speculation, bed sharing, day trip revisited, jaha ships bellarke
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-05
Updated: 2017-02-05
Packaged: 2018-09-22 03:56:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,223
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9582380
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FelicisQuill2/pseuds/FelicisQuill2
Summary: “What are you doing? You need to get some rest,” she insists. “How long have you been awake? Thirty-six hours? Forty-eight?”The flames cast half of Clarke's face in bright relief and leave half in shadow when he glances over at her. She's ethereal, still as gorgeous as she was the day she pressed a kiss against his cheek and walked away from him.“I’m fine, Princess. I’ll take the first watch,” he says gruffly, a touch of an edge to his tone.“Hey!” she interjects, pursuing her lips together. “What’s with the nickname? That’s twice in three hours. You haven’t used it . . . ”"Since the day you lit a ring of fire around the dropship," Bellamy supplies drily. "But who's counting?"~~~~~~~~~~~Bellamy and Clarke begin the journey from Polis to Arkadia with Jaha. Revealing conversations come to light in the dark forest.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Will Jaha and Bellamy ever hash out the whole "I shot you on the Ark" thing? How much does Jaha now know about Sky Crew's personal lives thanks to the ALIE mind sharing? These are the types of questions that haunt you once you start watching The 100. Hope you enjoy! As always, comments are life, and I love getting them! If you have an idea for a Bellarke story you'd like me to write, shoot it my way!

 

The marker is simple: Two pieces of dark, rough wood hewn together in a sort of cross. Someone, probably Clarke but Bellamy doesn’t know for sure, carved block letters into it. _Wells Jaha, 2130-2147._

He stands before the mound of dirt where emerald grass shoots begin to push thickly through the soil in uneven patches. Jaha shifts a little bit next to him, crossing his arms over his chest.

Bellamy clears his throat, turning the words over in his mind before he speaks, wanting them to come out right. “He was a good guy. He was brave, a leader,” he says. “He wanted to protect Clarke. That’s why he came down here.”

Jaha nods silently but doesn’t look at him.

“He said the 100 needed to share our supplies from the Ark equally, and he was one of the first to fight for keeping the wristbands on, so you all would know we were alive and Earth was survivable,” Bellamy continues. The words flow more easily now that he’s started remembering the earnest, strong young man who could have been his friend under different circumstances. “He came on the search expedition to find Jasper after he got speared by the grounders. He shot a wild boar that tried to attack us before we found him. I . . . I just froze, but he shot it like he’d been born to protect people.”

“That sounds like my boy,” Jaha says quietly.

Bellamy feels the familiar twist of guilt gnawing away at his stomach lining, a corrosive acid he’ll never shake off. He sighs deeply. 

“I’m the one who told Charlotte to slay her demons. I was so stupid. But I never thought she’d attack him. I didn’t know . . . ” he drifts off. “I should have been there to save him.”

“No, son,” Jaha claps Bellamy’s shoulder with a warm hand as he looks at him steadily. “That was my job. I was the Chancellor. Keeping you all safe was my responsibility,” he pauses before continuing. “The decisions we’ve all had to make, the things we’ve seen, what we’ve done, it’s unthinkable.”

Jaha sees a flash of recognition flicker across Bellamy’s face. “But it’s all made us the people we are right now. We’re stronger than we ever were in space. We’re going to be better. And I promise you - we’re both going to be worth saving one day, Bellamy,” he says firmly.

Bellamy glances back down to the grave, digging his hands into his pockets.

“What is it? You can tell me,” Jaha finishes coaxingly, letting his hand drop.

Bellamy steels his shoulders and drops his chin a fraction. The confession has lived in him for so long he’s not sure how to give it a voice of its own. “I needed to be on the dropship. I needed to be with Octavia. I’m all she had – she grew up under the floor. I couldn’t let her go to Earth alone. I didn’t want to shoot you, but when Shumway came to me, it seemed like the only way . . . ”

He watches the moonlight softly filtering through the topmost leaves of the large oaks surrounding them. He swallows hard and continues.

“It wasn’t the right choice. I know that. And I’m sorry.”

Jaha’s dark eyes glint a little, and he smiles ever so slightly.

“I know,” he says simply. “Your love for your sister is admirable, Bellamy. I forgave you a long time ago.”

Just then, the crack of a branch jerks their attention toward the hill on their right, where a flash of blonde hair appears between the tree trunks.

Clarke carries a small bunch of wildflowers in her hands, which she places neatly at the foot of Wells’ grave when she reaches it. The soft blues and purples stand out strikingly against the black dirt, but they add a certain haunting beauty to the scene, too. She moves to stand next to Bellamy and gazes at her handiwork. He glances at her out of the corner of his eye in time to see a single tear slip smoothly across her cheek. She feels the pressure of his hand on her lower back for a brief moment before it’s gone like a sudden gust of warm wind.

“We’ve lost the light,” Clarke says after a few moments, snapping them all back to reality. “We need to set up camp and rest for a few hours, so we can get back to Arkadia by dawn.”

She looks pointedly at Bellamy, and he knows what the gaze implies. They need to talk to Raven and Monty sooner rather than later and get started on the radiation threat now that they’ve secured some protection within the grounder coalition thanks to Roan.

“Lead the way,” Bellamy tells her.

They unroll navy blue sleeping bags as Jaha lights a fire, which begins unimpressively but soon grows to a snapping, sparking inferno of hot orange flames. Bellamy places his sleeping bag between the other two but closer to Jaha’s near the edge of their little camp. 

Clarke looks at him quizzically as he sits down on top of it with his back to the fire, facing the clearing. She drags her sleeping bag a few feet closer to his before crouching down near him. 

“What are you doing? You need to get some rest,” she insists. “How long have you been awake? Thirty-six hours? Forty-eight?”

The flames cast half of Clarke's face in bright relief and leave half in shadow when he glances over at her. She's ethereal, still as gorgeous as she was the day she pressed a kiss against his cheek and walked away from him.  

“I’m fine, Princess. I’ll take the first watch,” he says gruffly, a touch of an edge to his tone.

Clarke looks at him shrewdly, making a face.

“Hey!” she interjects, pursuing her lips together. “What’s with the nickname? That’s twice in three hours. You haven’t used it . . . ”

"Since the day you lit a ring of fire around the dropship," Bellamy supplies drily. "But who's counting?" 

Her eyes take in the hard lines of his body. He looks like a tightly coiled spring, ready to pounce at the slightest provocation as he watches the trees before them. 

"Right . . . " she says slowly, her tone now a little harder, too. "It's been a while. So why now?" 

He runs a hand across his jaw a few times then tangles it into his hair. 

“I don’t know,” he shrugs. “Seems to fit. Princess in the Tower. Princess making deals with the _King of Azgeda_.”

She glances up to make sure Jaha is out of earshot. He’s busy gathering more firewood about fifty yards away.

"This is about  _Roan?"_ she hisses, eyes narrowing confusedly. "I know you don't trust him, but he's our best shot at keeping the coalition together long enough to figure out how to ride out the radiation. Plus, you were all for my plan in Polis. You called it ‘smart’ and ‘quick thinking.’"

"It was . . . it is," he admits quietly to the dirt before him. 

"Oh-kay," she draws it out for emphasis, eyes locked on his unmoving profile. "Look, Bellamy, I know Echo has Roan's ear and that she threatened both of our lives today, but I think when she sees the signs of radiation for herself, she'll realize --"

“You don’t know what the hell you’re talking about, Clarke! These people aren't reasonable,” he snaps. “Echo’s the reason she’s dead.”

Her eyes squint a bit in confusion, but as she watches the muscle in his jaw jump as he clenches his teeth, the realization hits her like a wave crashing into the beach. The "oh" catches in her throat as comprehension lights up her blue eyes. She reaches her arm out tentatively toward him, leaving it suspended in the air. She fully expects him to pull away from her, but for whatever reason, he doesn’t. So with a feather-light touch, she begins to run her fingertips across the top of his hand.

“Oh my God. I’m so sorry, Bellamy. I didn’t mean to minimize what she did. . . . I didn’t even think when I asked you to distract her that—”

“It’s all right,” he says abruptly, decisively, cutting her off. “It’s not your fault. It had to be done.”

She looks at him lovingly, biting her lip, remembering the last time he said those words to her. Things are so much more complicated now than they were then. The lines around her mouth soften as she continues to rub his hand and wrist soothingly.

A few tears glisten above her lash line, but he can’t look there for long. He settles his gaze back on the trees once more. 

“I’m sorry,” he says quietly after a few moments. “She brought Gina up to me tonight, and I didn’t expect it . . . and . . . it bothered me,” he finishes simply.

Clarke nods sympathetically, eyes widening. 

"Bellamy . . . " 

The thud of firewood hitting the ground takes them both by surprise.

“This should be enough to get us through the night,” Jaha announces.

Clarke pulls her hand away swiftly, gazing up at her childhood best friend’s father.

“Isn’t it a little strange we haven’t seen any animals on the walk back?” he asks them out of nowhere. “You mentioned a wild boar before, Bellamy. And it got me thinking – where's the other wildlife?”

Bellamy and Clarke share a glance before looking back up at him. It’s true. They haven’t spotted any mammals, bugs, or even paw prints on the journey so far. A sort of eerie quiet blankets their camp.

“You’re right,” Clarke supplies. “Listen,” she holds a finger to her lips.

They’re quiet for several long moments.

“No insects,” she says finally.

But then Bellamy grins. It’s so radiant and bright that his teeth sparkle against his tan skin. She realizes it’s been several centuries since she’s seen him really smile.

“Oh yeah?” he challenges, raising his eyebrows. “Then what do you call that?”

He’s pointing over Jaha’s shoulder, and they both turn to look in the direction of his gesture. A sparkling, electric blue butterfly floats lazily through the air.

Clarke, losing herself in the sight, beams in awe. She hasn’t taken pleasure in nature in a long time.

“Well, would you look at that,” Jaha says, smiling himself.

A few minutes later, Clarke settles into her sleeping bag, curled up on her side facing Bellamy.

“Are you going to go to sleep?” she asks him.

“Yeah, soon,” he replies, eyes still searching the black horizon.

“We’re safe from the grounders here,” she offers into the space between them. It’s quiet except for the crackling of the fire when Jaha throws bits of leaves into it from the other side of the camp circle. “Roan will keep his word - for now at least. Nobody is going to attack us.”

“Mmmhmm,” is all he says.

She smiles a little.

“All right. Have it your way,” she closes her eyes.

“Goodnight, Princess,” he says it so softly, almost reverently, that he’s positive she didn’t catch it.

But then –

“Goodnight, Bellamy.”

Within ten minutes, she’s soundly asleep, fidgeting slightly and mumbling unknowable gibberish from time to time. He can watch her openly now, and his gaze drifts to the deep puncture wounds on her chest, the dried blood beginning to crust over them. He usually never looks at the easy swell of her breasts, but the stab wounds make him feel nauseated and draw his attention there.

“Her mother did that to her,” Jaha supplies from a few feet away.

“What?” his head snaps up.

“From when ALIE wanted Clarke to give up the passcode to the Flame. She had Abby stab her twice,” he explains.

Bellamy’s stomach rolls over at the disgusting nature of it all.

“But Clarke wouldn’t crack,” Bellamy says at last, proud of her resilience. The firelight reflects on her pale skin, making it appear almost translucent. She looks so much more like the girl who argued with him over opening the dropship door when they first crash-landed in her sleep.

“She almost did,” Jaha corrects him. “For you.”

“No,” Bellamy breathes. “When I got to the Throne Room with Murphy, Abby was almost dead. She had hanged herself. Clarke didn’t even break for her.”

“This was before that,” Jaha insists. “Believe me, son. I saw her face. I saw it in her eyes. ALIE wanted us to torture you in front of Clarke. I don’t think she would have let that happen.”

Bellamy shakes his head. “No, my life wasn’t worth saving over everyone else’s,” he argues more emphatically.

Jaha runs a hand across his jaw, stroking the stubbly beard growing there.

“I saw you fighting in the Throne Room to protect your people with everything you had, Bellamy. You almost let Kane kill you because you didn’t want to hurt him.”

Bellamy looks ready to retort, but Jaha throws up a hand to stop him.

"You’re a good man who made some bad choices. But you are worth it,” he looks directly at Bellamy. “Clarke knew it from the beginning – don’t forget she’s the one who pleaded with me for your life after you shot me. She got you pardoned.”

He lets that sink in for a moment.

“She cares a lot about you. Everybody knows it,” Jaha finishes. “I think it’s time you did, too. Take it from somebody who’s lost all the people who mattered most to him in this world. Time is finite, and we can only outsmart death for so long...especially on this planet.”

“With all due respect, sir, my relationship with Clarke is—”

“I heard you fighting,” Jaha cuts him off. “I know you two think I’m old and my hearing’s going, but I assure you, it’s fine. And I know why you fought,” he continues over Bellamy’s attempt to interrupt. “I was in that jail cell with you. I saw your face when she told her mother she loved Lexa. I heard you screaming when they came to take her away. You're in love with her." He's silent for several beats, but Bellamy barely moves, let alone speaks. "Tell me I'm wrong."

At last, Bellamy’s expression falters. He looks at his clenched hands resting on his knees. It would be pointless to try to deny the despair that had soaked through his bones at Clarke's words. He's loved her for so long he doesn't even know when it really began. But she made it clear today she loved Lexa. And he should still be mourning Gina.

“Ok, she loved her," Jaha cuts into his churning thoughts. "But that’s in the past. What about tomorrow? What comes next?”

 _Being burnt to a crisp in a nuclear holocaust,_ Bellamy thinks bitterly.

“She turned the page, Bellamy. She gave the Flame to Roan. Listen, I know how you feel. I know you don’t think you’re good enough. But just let me say this and then I’ll let you get some sleep. Jake Griffin was my best friend, and I care about his daughter. I want her to be happy. I want her to be safe. I want her to have a future – I owe my friend that much. My son died for it, as you pointed out. Nobody loves Clarke more fiercely than you. Her mother approves of you. Kane approves of you,” he sighs deeply, rubbing his temples with the tips of his fingers. “And, I think there’s something else you should consider. ALIE isn’t known for making mistakes, son. She wanted to devastate Clarke by threatening the person she loved the most to get the passphrase out of her. ALIE used the same tactic to get a lot of people to take the chip. Kane took it because she threatened to kill Abby. Abby took it because she threatened to make Raven slit her wrists. When it came to Clarke, ALIE specifically wanted to start with you. You’re her weakness.”

Bellamy stares back at him, his mouth slightly open. A memory flashes into his mind, cast in a new light now, but still so sharp it cuts at the lining of his throat.

_I thought you hated that plan. That I would get myself killed._

_I was being weak. It’s worth the risk._

Jaha gets up and picking up his sleeping bag, claps Bellamy on the shoulder before carrying it to the other side of the circle toward the forest. “Just think about it,” he says, laying down with his back to the fire.

Bellamy breathes deeply, gazing up at the stars and searching for constellations in an attempt to settle his nerves. When the sound of Jaha’s deep, slow snoring arrives several minutes later, it breaks him out of his racing thoughts. He rises a little shakily and walks across the fire pit, sinking onto his sleeping bag. Clarke stirs, her eyes fluttering open as the ground vibrates slightly beneath her. Her eyes grow wide as she looks at his pale face and intense gaze.

“Bellamy, what is it?” she asks urgently, sitting up at once. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” he smiles down at her, “Go back to sleep. Everything’s ok. I’m right here.”

Her eyes track over his face intently. She shakes her head a fraction of an inch in either direction. “No,” she drags out the word. “Something's up. What is it?”

Without thinking, he reaches out to push a piece of her light hair behind her ear. She catches his hand in her own and pulls it into her lap. “Bellamy?” she tries again.

“Everything's fine,” he says softly, allowing himself one swift glance at her lips. “I just need a few minutes to be weak, that’s all.”

She looks momentarily confused, but then a wild flash of comprehension dawns on her features as he continues to hold her gaze. A shiver runs through her that has nothing to do with the wind kicking up around them. 

“That sounds fair,” she says finally, just breathing out the words. “Why don't you lay down for a little while and rest?”

He doesn’t answer her, but instead reaches out to unzip the side of her sleeping bag that’s closest to him and then unzips his own in turn. He grips the sides of hers and drags it closer to his own, causing her to let out a soft giggle, breaking the tension. She looks at him for another long moment as his hair falls into his eyes. He slips into the sleeping bag, laying down on his back next to her.

He can feel her body heat radiating from beneath the blankets. She’s just inches away from him, but he doesn’t dare touch her although his fingers twitch. For whatever reason, his nerve refuses to stretch any further tonight. Instead, she curls onto her left side 1until she bumps up against him and snuggles down into his chest without asking permission. He instantly wraps his right arm securely around her waist. She reaches out for his left hand draped over his stomach and intertwines his fingers with her own.

“Goodnight, Bellamy,” she says one last time.

“Goodnight, Clarke,” he replies, pressing a soft kiss to the crown of her head.

He feels her slow, steady heartbeat against his side. A symbolic promise to keep moving forward, to keep fighting. And for now, that's enough hope to get him through the night. 

 

 

 

 


End file.
